How Green is Your Supervisor?

This is our report card for the SF Board of Supervisors in 2014. It shows the most important votes in 2014, from a Green Party perspective, and whether each supervisor supported or opposed our position. Some of the votes are on amendments to legislation. Compare to our 2013 and 2012 report cards.

Key:

Supported Green Party position

Opposed Green Party position

Excused Absence (Vacation or Resigned)

D 1: Eric Mar

D 2: Mark Farrell

D 3: David Chiu

D 4: Katy Tang

D 5: London Breed

D 6: Jane Kim

D 7: Norman Yee

D 8: Scott Wiener

D 9: David Campos

D 10: Malia Cohen

D 11: John Avalos

Sharp Park Golf Course

N

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

Y

Y

N

Y

N

"Google Bus" Pilot Project

-

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

Y

N

Support Landlords Over Evictees

N

Y

N

Y

Y

N

N

Y

N

Y

N

Kick Angela Chan off Police Commission

N

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

Y

N

Y

N

Muni Ad Contract

N

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

Y

N

N

Y

N

Revisit Sunshine Task Force Appointments

Y

N

N

N

N

Y

N

N

Y

N

Y

Muni Riders Subsidizing Sunday Drivers

N

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

Let Voters Elect our Electeds

Y

N

Y

N

N

Y

N

N

Y

N

Y

More City Funds for Muni

N

N

Y

N

Y

Y

N

Y

Y

Y

-

Home Monitoring of Inmates

Y

N

N

Y

N

Y

Y

N

Y

N

-

Limit Airbnb Rentals to 90 Days

Y

N

N

N

N

Y

Y

N

Y

N

Y

Collect Airbnb Back Taxes

Y

N

N

N

N

Y

Y

N

Y

N

Y

AT&T Building Permit

N

Y

N

Y

Y

N

N

Y

N

Y

Y

Delay "Prezageddon"

Y

N

N

N

N

Y

Y

N

-

N

Y

Table "Black Lives Matter" Resolution

N

Y

-

Y

Y

N

-

Y

N

Y

N

Overall Score

93%

0%

29%

7%

7%

80%

50%

13%

93%

7%

92%

Details about the votes we scored

1) Sharp Park Golf Course (3/25/14).

Sharp Park is a public golf course in Pacifica, which is owned and run by the City of San Francisco. It was built on wetlands that are home to several endangered species, including the California Red-Legged Frog and San Francisco garter snake. According to a SF Weekly study in 2010, the golf course costs SF taxpayers tens of millions of dollars to maintain ("Bleeding Green") and will cost even more in the future with sea level rise. These funds should be devoted to maintaining our public parks that are actually in the City, and on eliminating fees for visiting and using SF parks (such as the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park). In March, Supervisors voted to move forward with an upgrade project, rejecting environmentalists' calls to first study how the construction would affect wildlife.

Landlords who evict tenants under the Ellis Act are currently required to pay each tenant around $5200. In April, Supervisor Campos wrote legislation to increase these payments to reflect the difference between the evicted tenant's rent payments and the market rent for similar apartments. The rationale was that evicted residents might still be able to afford to live in SF for a year or two, if they were evicted for no reason other than to increase profits for the landlord.

Ultimately, the Board voted for a "hardship exemption" that would only benefit middle class landlords and not wealthy speculators. The legislation to increase payments passed, but is currently on hold pending a lawsuit.

In May, Supervisors sold advertising rights on Muni buses, including doubling the number of "fully wrapped" buses. These "full wrap" ads are especially bad because they make it hard to see out of the bus, making Muni even more unpleasant for passengers. The contract only brings in $325,000 per year from the wraps, a drop in the bucket for a system that costs over half a billion dollars per year.

6) Sunshine Task Force Appointments (5/20/14).

In 2012, we scored the Supervisors' decision to purge progressives, including Green Party member Bruce Wolfe, from the Sunshine Task force. In 2014, they re-appointed the same conservative slate, including several candidates who are frequently absent or have Ethics complaints filed against them. Four supervisors voted to send the appointments back to the Rules committee, so this is the vote we scored.

7) Muni Riders Subsidizing Sunday Drivers (6/17/14).

The SF Municipal Transit Agency (MTA) is a City department that manages all ground transportation in SF, including public transit. In 2012, the MTA began requiring drivers to pay parking meters on Sundays from noon-6 pm. Sunday meters brought in approximately $11 million/year to help fund various projects, including street repairs and Muni. Local businesses also supported Sunday meters, since more turnover in parking spaces meant easier parking for their customers who drove. However, Mayor Lee called for free parking on Sundays, and the MTA board (all of whom are appointed by the Mayor) obeyed. This led to a budget deficit, which was only partly covered by a subsequent Muni fare increase.

Environmentalists appealed the MTA's decision to the Supervisors, reasoning that the new policy favoring cars over Muni should require an environmental review, but they were rejected on a 9-2 vote.

We note that while we support Sunday meters in commercial areas, we do not support the MTA's expansion of parking meters into residential neighborhoods.

As Greens support Muni being fully funded from our tax dollars (and free to the riders), Prop B was a step in the right direction.

10) Home Monitoring of Inmates (7/22/14).

In July, Sheriff Mirkarimi proposed allowing inmates who are too poor to afford bail, but who are not a safety risk, to be given the option of staying home with electronic monitoring using ankle bracelets. This policy would both lower the number of repeat offenders (by allowing them to maintain family ties) and also save taxpayer money. Five Supervisors rejected the proposal out of personal animosity towards the Sheriff, rather than acting in the public interest.

We hope the Supervisors will revisit this at a time when Supervisor Avalos can participate in the vote.

In September, the Planning Commission gave AT&T a conditional use permit (a waiver of zoning regulations) to allow them to build a new wireless telecommunications center on top of an existing 3-story building. Residents of the building and more than 50 neighbors objected to the plan, stating that the new towers would be higher than the rest of the neighborhood and block views, as well as emit high levels of electromagnetic radiation. The Supervisors sided 6-5 with AT&T, allowing them to build the project.

14) Prezageddon (11/18/14).

After Supervisor Chiu used Ron Conway's "donations" to secure a seat in the State Legislature, he engineered a vote to appoint his replacement to the Board Presidency, before such a vacancy even occurred! Such a move was unprecedented, and was denounced by former Board Presidents from across the political spectrum. Supervisor Avalos led a motion to delay the vote, but this failed as the outgoing President voted for his own replacement.